DIY Cosmetics

The appeal of making your own isn't only the price. It's the control: four ingredients instead of a list of twenty-three, and you know where each one came from.

The recipes below use few ingredients and work without scales, emulsifier or preservative.

Four recipes to start with

Beard oil · 30 ml

20 ml jojoba oil · 8 ml almond oil · 2 ml castor oil · 6 drops cedarwood · 3 drops litsea cubeba

Combine in a 30 ml dropper bottle, roll rather than shake. The castor oil provides the slight sheen; more than 10 % makes it sticky. Work two to three drops into a damp beard.

Hair oil with rosemary · 50 ml

40 ml jojoba oil · 10 ml avocado oil · 10 drops rosemary · 5 drops peppermint

That comes to a 1.5 % dilution. Massage into the scalp, leave for 30 minutes, then wash as usual. Twice a week is enough.

Bath salts · 200 g

200 g coarse sea salt · 1 tbsp almond oil · 15 drops lavender or ylang-ylang

Mix the oil and essential oil first, then fold into the salt. The carrier oil isn't optional here – essential oil alone floats on the bathwater and meets the skin undiluted. Leave to infuse for two weeks.

Sugar scrub · 150 g

100 g brown sugar · 50 ml almond oil · 8 drops lemon

Stir together, transfer to a screw-top jar. Don't use before sunbathing – lemon oil is phototoxic. To avoid that, use litsea cubeba instead: citrusy, but free of furocoumarins.

Before you begin

Pure oil formulations need no preservative, because nothing grows without water. As soon as water, hydrosol or aloe comes into play, that changes – then you need a preservative, or within a few days you have a microbiological problem that isn't always visible or detectable by smell.

And if you give away or sell what you make: cosmetics placed on the market fall under the Cosmetics Regulation, with a safety report and CPNP notification. That doesn't apply to personal use.

Frequently asked questions

Which carrier oil should I use as a base?
Jojoba for anything meant to keep, almond oil as an affordable all-round base. Avocado and castor only as components.

Why is lemon oil a problem in a scrub?
Cold-pressed citrus oils contain furocoumarins and are phototoxic. Avoid direct sun for twelve hours after applying. Litsea cubeba is the citrus alternative without that issue.

How long do homemade oil blends keep?
As long as the shortest-lived base oil in them – three to six months with almond, considerably longer with jojoba. Store cool, dark and in amber glass.

Do I need an emulsifier?
Only if water is involved. Pure oil formulations work without one.

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